I will look for more information for you stephley. No promises though.Brandy - I can't speak for the land that was going to be used for the construction of the thoroughfare, but the "wetlands" to be used by the trucking company was less than 30x30 feet. It was near another trucking hub, and the only things growing in it were/are weeds, cattails, and mosquitoes. I've seen it.

I will look for more information for you stephley. No promises though.
Brandy - I can't speak for the land that was going to be used for the construction of the thoroughfare, but the "wetlands" to be used by the trucking company was less than 30x30 feet. It was near another trucking hub, and the only things growing in it were/are weeds, cattails, and mosquitoes. I've seen it.

Well, you have no way of knowing if land is being used by wildlife unless you are involved in indepth research on the area. The EPA has been made a laughing stock by Bush and his administration. I don't agree with the thought that, well we're humans, therefore we can destroy this land if we want, who cares if it is habitat to endagered wildlife. Humans have destroyed quite enough wildlife habitat for our own use.

The companies changed their plan because the money involved in challenging the EPA's claims would have trippled the cost of construction.
The turtle population might be in trouble worldwide, but they are thriving in WI (ok in places in WI), but people are now hurting because their jobs were taken away, in the name of 10 acres of land that wasn't being used by anything but mosquitoes, and mosquitoes aren't endangered here.

The companies changed their plan because the money involved in challenging the EPA's claims would have trippled the cost of construction.The turtle population might be in trouble worldwide, but they are thriving in WI (ok in places in WI), but people are now hurting because their jobs were taken away, in the name of 10 acres of land that wasn't being used by anything but mosquitoes, and mosquitoes aren't endangered here.

That's two cases and there had to be some reason to believe the decision was valid or the companies wouldn't have changed their plans. The EPA doesn't just come in and say 'well, there might be a turtle living here' and the company moves - there's too much money at stake. The story is missing key details.
That said, about half the world's turtle species are in big trouble.

That's two cases and there had to be some reason to believe the decision was valid or the companies wouldn't have changed their plans. The EPA doesn't just come in and say 'well, there might be a turtle living here' and the company moves - there's too much money at stake. The story is missing key details.That said, about half the world's turtle species are in big trouble.

I've seen way too much of it here. There are 3 major trucking terminals in Tomah. One (CFX, I think) wanted to expand their operations, and expand their Tomah facility by 200 feet, to allow for more trucks. The EPA denied their request, because the last 10 feet would infringe on a 20' swamp, which might have been the "only habitat for a turtle". CFX responded by moving their operation (and the jobs) to another town, costing many residents their livelihood. Trane in La Crosse has moved one of the largest facilities out of La Crosse (costing 1,000 jobs) because a N-S corridor could not be constructed because of the three acres of swamp land might be a "vital habitat for some creature". Neither had any proof that these reasons were valid, but that didn't concern the EPA.

When the pendulum swings to the protecting the environment side, let me know - I haven't seen that yet in my lifetime. Safety issues are a much greater factor in not building more nuclear power plants. And in the past 7+ years, the Bush Administration has done all it can to keep the EPA underfunded and useless.

There needs to be a balance between protecting the environment and increasing our ability to meet the demand. For too long it has been impossible to build anything (Refineries, nuclear power plants, roads, fences) because it "might" interfere with a small percentage of an animal species. They've kept us from being able to do the projects we need to continue to grow our economy. :oy:

If we really want to place the blame on high oil prices, let's put them where they belong. That is with the EPA. We haven't built a new refinery in how many years because of permits. We have failed to keep the the flow equal to the demand. That didn't just suddenly happen. This began almost 20 years ago. We are feeling the effects of 3 failed presidencies (in this area).

I think the fact that Pelosi is in trouble with her constituents is the reason she is so desparate to deflect attention away from her at any cost. She might be the most powerful woman in congress, but she is definitely showing that she isn't the person who should be weilding that power.

Thank you Nancy Pelosi for being smart enough to see through the President's off shore and ANWR drilling BS. They have plenty of area they can drill for oil, that they don't even take advantage of. I absolutely agree, and have been saying for years, that the reason oil prices are so high has to do with the fact that our President and Vice President profit off of the oil industry.

Looks like the Olympic team will suck again, if no black players are participating. That's really lame of China.But seriously I don't understand why color is such a big deal, it must hurts the athletes who were so excited to go but will be treated like second-class citizens.

Looks like the Olympic team will suck again, if no black players are participating. That's really lame of China.
But seriously I don't understand why color is such a big deal, it must hurts the athletes who were so excited to go but will be treated like second-class citizens.

That goes for all politicians. They have soooo much to say and like to tell us what to do or should be done, but when you look at the big picture, they are just windbags who do absolutely nothing but spend OUR money. Both teams. We all need to clean house and vote in a bunch of moderates who truly want to help this country, not just protect their pocketbooks and their future careers in politics. Ugh, can you tell I am sick of it? :sick: